Property has always been a great investment for the most part. Yet, it isn’t for the faint of hearted. A lot of people would like to get started with it but it isn’t easy. Thinking ahead and planning your route is the best way to ensure success. Research makes all the difference here, you can bet a lot of those who lost money or outright failed did so because of poor research. It might seem like a lot of work, but when there are large amounts of money at stake you’re better off being safe than sorry. There are a lot of things you need to consider when contemplating going into the property game, some are quite generic, while others are incredibly specific to what kind of property development you want to get into. These ultimate beginner tips can give you something to think about, if you already have, great! You can keep going down the research route to fill in the knowledge gaps.
Cover Yourself
One of the most important things you need to do is cover yourself before you start any major structural work on any buildings. Or before you start building up on previously unused land. This means ensuring, before going ahead with any work, that you know the local legislation. Get the right planning permission you need otherwise you could end up needing some Expert Legal Advice. You may also need certain types of insurance. This is especially the case if you are going to be borrowing power tools or earth moving vehicles. If you directly hire people you may need site insurance too. Look into this. Usually when just using tradesmen you’ll be fine. You need to ensure you’re covered under every aspect you can think of because if something goes wrong you’ll be liable for everything. Again, proper research can help here. Especially if your first project isn’t somewhere you’re familiar with.
Research Your Intended Area
Finding a niche in the housing market and exploiting it for gain sounds easy on paper. For your first project, it’s probably best to stick to a place you’re somehow familiar with. The reason is simple. You’ll know if you’re getting a good deal or not. If you know the area, you’ll know the demographics. You’ll be able to see the various issues which could affect the house price. You need to make sure you know what’s going on in the local area. Are there any local developments going up which would affect the price of your development. No point in buying a home to renovate and then realising its value will sink due to factors outside of your control. Sometimes you can’t predict these…but doing research is the best way to get around it. If something did go wrong, you’d at least know you’ve done your prior research.
Forge Relationships
If you want to do this for the long term, then forging certain relationships is really important and can end up making things go a lot smoother and even saving you a bit of money. Relationships with tradesmen are vitally important. Especially if you find a good one who does work to a high standard. Being able to give them guaranteed work enables you to be able to save some money in certain situations. It’s better than using different tradesmen every time. This is another reason why it makes sense to focus on the same city or area because you’ll be able to forge these relationships to a higher standard. You might want to do the same with sales agents. If they see something good come up on the market they might know to give you a call right away. This gives you an edge over any competition looking to buy up the same properties because you’ll be able to have first dibs. It takes years to forge these kinds of relationships but get started right away and think ahead around how you’re going to do it.
Upskill Yourself
For your first project it’ll save you a lot of money if you manage to upskill in a certain area. This can be something basic like painting. Yet, you could take it further and go for something like basic electrics or plastering. Being able to do something like this will save you a lot of money. You’ll be better off learning now too, before you start ploughing money into property where your time will all be sucked up. It might sound too time intensive, but you’d be surprised by how easy some things are to get started. Remember, don’t try anything that you think will be a bit beyond you because it could be dangerous.
